When shades of the series Entourage meld with Killing Eve and Saltburn to create a slow burn, low-key erotic thriller and character study.
This may be the feature debut for Alex Russell (a writer on series The Bear and Beef), but his cast ensemble and production team have had plenty of set time (his AC worked on Avatar). In a non-linear visual narrative with a straight-through character study of a young, lonely, LA wanna-be named Matthew, played with remarkable skill by Théodore Pellerin, a well-crafted manipulative mask of innocence compels the story. Matthew's lurker love interest is Oliver, a young British singer whose star is on the rise, played by Archie Madekwe who effortlessly does all his own soulful vocals. Madekwe's adept enigmatic presence is no less than it was in Midsommer or Saltburn - it's just a different shape.
Russell admittedly knows the LA music scene - with its determined strivers, affable hangers-on, and adulating desperados in a frenzied orbit around a carefully curated alpha. Everyone in Oliver's entourage wants to benefit from his success, but no one worriedly wants it more than Matthew. Social class disparities in Oliver's beehive are not an issue, but they are for Matthew, which affords him the despair he needs for a disturbing character arc.
DP Pat Scola (Pig, Sing Sing, and A Quiet Place: Day One) offers colorful visuals that move with vitality aided by video interludes, and the overall aesthetics are boosted by Kenny Beats' lively synth score.
While many films would serve up a suitable karma for a deviant lurker, Russell didn't want an obvious resolution, relying instead to explore how the barriers to obsessive fandom can be breached with cunning and a monstrous fear of alienation as a first driver.
